Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor sensor and to a method using such a semiconductor sensor for detecting mobile ions in a sample.
Background and Related Art
Measuring the quantitative concentration of mobile ions in liquid sample may be accomplished by chromatographic or spectroscopic methods as for instance HPLC (High-performance or high pressure liquid chromatography), GC-MS (Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry), AAS (Atomic absorption spectroscopy) or ICP-MS (Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry). Each approach has advantages in terms of ease of use and sensitivity, enabling the measurement of mobile ion down to a magnitude of ppm or even lower. These methods require large and expensive apparatus and specially trained personal.
In the health care industry testing of human blood samples is often performed. As one example, a blood sample may be tested for the presence of K+ (potassium ions), which may be performed using one or more of the above-described techniques. Such techniques may require a relatively long amount of time and/or substantial cost to perform.
At least some of the disadvantages of prior art can be overcome by the present invention.